| Nieuwe Herengracht | |
| Postal Code: | 1011, 1018 |
| Location: | Amsterdam |
| Coordinates: | 52.3669°N 4.9063°W |
| Direction A: | West |
| Terminus A: | Amstel, opposite Herengracht |
| Terminus B: | Entrepotdok, Schippersgracht |
The Nieuwe Herengracht (in Dutch; Flemish pronounced as /ˌniu.ə ˈɦeːrə(ŋ)ˌɣrɑxt/) is a canal in Centrum district of Amsterdam.The canal is an extension of the Herengracht that runs between the Amstel and the Scharrebiersluis (lock) leading to the Schippersgracht from the Entrepotdok.It is in the Plantage neighborhood in the eastern part of the Grachtengordel (canal belt).
The Herengracht, dug in 1612, is named after the Heren Regeerders who governed Amsterdam in the 16th and 17th centuries. The part between Leidsegracht and the Amstel belongs to the expansion of 1658. With the last expansion, the section was laid east of the Amstel to Schippersgracht, where the water flowed into the IJ, or since 1832 into the Oosterdok. This part, the Nieuwe Herengracht, like the Nieuwe Keizersgracht and the Nieuwe Prinsengracht, ran through the prosperous part of Amsterdam's Jewish quarter.
From 1874 the Nieuwe Herengracht has been part of the shipping connection between the Amstel and the Oosterdok and the IJ respectively. Before this the connection was via the Zwanenburgwal and the Oudeschans. The stone arch bridges were replaced by movable bridges for the shipping industry.These bridges are the Weesperzijde (bridge 237: Walter Süskindbrug), Weesperstraat (bridge 238: M.S. Vaz Diasbrug), Muiderstraat (bridge 239: Hortusbrug) and bridge 50 in line with Plantage Doklaan. These were replaced by the current bridges in the 1960s and 1970s.
Because the expansion of Amsterdam reduced demand for land, some building plots were donated to charities. For example, in 1682 the Hortus Botanicus Amsterdam, originally intended by the Amsterdam city council as a medicinal herb garden, was moved to the Nieuwe Herengracht. This botanical garden located on the bank of the Nieuwe Herengracht in the Hortus Bridge (bascule bridge 239) and Muiderstraat is one of the oldest botanical gardens in the world.
Around 1682, at the behest of the Diaconie of the Netherlands Reformed Congregations, the Amstelhof was built between Nieuwe Herengracht and Nieuwe Keizersgracht in monumental classical style as a home for the elderly in need. The construction was made possible by a bequest and the donation of the building land by the city administration. It remained in use as a nursing home until 2007. The complex has been radically renovated. In 2009, the H'ART Museum opened its doors here.
Behind the H'ART Museum on the Nieuwe Herengracht 18 and 20 are the 18th-century houses Het Corvershof[1] and Amstelrank. The monumental buildings were also commissioned by the Diaconie to accommodate and care for the elderly and the sick. Like Van Limmikhof and Hodshonhof, which are located on Nieuwe Keizersgracht, they are part of the Amstelhoven complex, which used to include the building that now houses the H'ART Museum. They share the communal garden designed by Bureau Mien Ruys. Organizations related to the Protestant Diaconie Amsterdam are still located in the houses. Amstelrank offers accommodation to Het Wereldhuis, where refugees are assisted.